Photos courtesy of Radford University

"We take it one match at a time. Those past matches are past. We just look to the present," said Radford University top seed Martin Sayer.

Radford University freshman Ivan Salec, the No. 23-ranked over-18 player in Croatia, has also gone undefeated this year.

RADFORD -- Now firmly ensconced as Big South Conference overdog, Radford University men's tennis sports the No. 1 seed in the league tournament that started Thursday at Winthrop.

Having enjoyed a first-round bye, the Highlanders prepare to play at 10 a.m. today against the winner of fourth-seeded Coastal Carolina and No. 5 Liberty.

Before the hammering Highs get started on their second defense of the conference crown, it is appropriate to start asking the tough questions, one being: Will success spoil Radford?

The evidence suggests otherwise. Consider:

n Radford is a reigning holder of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's All Academic designation, one of only 38 teams nationwide to enjoy the distinction.

n Radford was winner of the most recent Big South Sportsmanship Award as voted by the other teams. The award has to be legit because how often do teams that are beating the daylights out of everybody enjoy such universal good will? More often than not, sportsmanship awards go to polite losers.

"They're almost too good to be true," Highlanders coach Mike Anderson says of his athletes.

True story: Radford has a shot this weekend to qualify for its second national tournament in succession. Without saying that Radford is a prohibitive favorite in the Big South this weekend, let it be pointed out that Radford is undefeated in regular season conference play for the second time in three years and is coming off a third straight regular season championship.

Will overconfidence be a factor this weekend?

"It could be but we're very level-headed, we know what we have to do," top seed Martin Sayer said. "We take it one match at a time. Those past matches are past. We just look to the present."

For Sayer, it's been a distinguished past. The reigning conference player of the year, the junior from Hong Kong was a quarterfinalist in last year's ITA Mideast Regional. He's gone undefeated in conference play two years running and carries a 93-22 record into this weekend's action. He's 13-0 overall this spring.

Teamed with sophomore Zack Watson, Sayer has gone 5-0 in Big South doubles matches this year. Watson, a sophomore from Timberville, is the top-ranked player in Virginia and in the top five in the USTA's Mid-Atlantic Region.

The team's prized freshman, Ivan Salec, the No. 23-ranked over-18 player in Croatia, has also gone undefeated this year. Salec was introduced to Radford by countryman Luka Rister, who was on last year's team, and recruited by assistant coach Arthur Vasarevic, another Croat. Anderson closed the deal with a home visit, a move he deemed vital to bringing the gifted Salec to Radford.

"I like it here," Salec said. "The team is fine, the coach is great, the tennis is good, so I like it."

A third international player, junior Mehdi Benhammou of Morocco, also went 6-0 in conference regular season play at No. 4. Aside from being a crack tennis player, Benhammou has proved he knows how to crack a book. He's the top-ranked male student-athlete in the whole school with a 3.6 grade-point average. He majors in finance and has big postgraduate plans.

"I'm going to go back home to Morocco to make a lot of money," said Benhammou, who has a 14-match winning streak.

First, he'll come back to Radford for his senior season. The Highlanders lose only two seniors, Tyler Early of Roanoke and Englishman James Lloyd, the team's third-ranked player.

"We'll be real good again next year," Anderson said.